I thought the turnout for this - as for last year's Duke Bluebeard's Castle - was embarrrassing - though not as bad as for the pre-Prom event, which must have attracted all of 20 people.  Attendance in the Arena was respectable but there were huge areas of empty seating in the Circle.   Those who were in the hall, however, seemed very appreciative; and I don't mean the minority who insisted on trying to raise a round of applause for each of the Slavonic Dances, but the hearty applause at the end of that work, after Acts 1 & 2 of Osud and, particularly, after the final Act.  This seemed to me tremendously loud given how few people were there.  I wonder how it came across on the radio.

I thoroughly enjoyed Osud, as did my companions; and, once again, the performance was worth the long round-trip.  I thought some of the voices struggled to reach us in the Circle - a very common problem with the venue and not always the fault of the singers - but this didn't apply to any of the principals (at least from where we were sitting).  The glorious voices of Amanda Roocroft and Rosalind Plowright came through very clearly and Stefan Margita was also impressive.  Ironically, all three of them were singing from the far side of the platform; the voices I struggled to hear were usually the ones directly below us - and some of the minor solo roles which came from the choir. 

Did I hear that they were planning to release a commercial recording of this performance?  I might be tempted to buy it.  I like the one I have, but it is the WNO one and I'd quite like a recording in Czech.  Of course, a friend has committed the broadcast to MD for me but I think there'd be a space in my CD collection for a commercial recording if it's sensibly priced.

I'm not sure about the programming of the op 46 dances before the opera.  I suppose it's always a dilemma when the main work is just a bit too short to justify a whole concert to itself; and last night's solution was certainly better than the ridiculously short piece that preceded last year's Duke Bluebeard's Castle  but, to me anyway, it seemed something of a distraction from the 'main event' rather than a complement.  I must admit, though, I'm at a loss to think what might have been more appropriate.